A glass - or way too many - have been cornerstones of some of the most cherished memories of my life and they are often the beginning (or end) to a great story. The wine-and-dine extravagance of my first job offer, the lubricant of 6 hours of conversation deep into the night on a Paris street corner, the accompanying toast to a romantic evening of live music on the lawns of Ravinia.
Wine creates stories, but I want to learn about the stories of its creation - how passion is infused into its making, the history behind the craft, and what future it aspires to. I'm inspired by the passions of others and the dedication they bring to their life calling.
Though maybe an unfair characterization, Somm (the documentary) really embodied how far the journey into a lifetime of wine really could be and just how deep one could go and still not really understand it all. The the hallmark of a calling, something I can improve on every day but never perfect is what I can see in wine. It shares the same characteristics - complexity and everlasting learning - that underpin some of my favorite hobbies.
So for me, this class is an opportunity to get one level beneath the surface - hear the stories and learn a bit of the craft that has given me a lot to tell already.
@DavidMa - I admire your honesty in this post and am intrigued by this concept of pairing storytelling with wine. I wonder what drives that... Is it the composition of the drink, the industry branding or the historical context that dates back to the beginning of wine? If I had to guess, it would be a mix of all three. When I think back to my experiences of wine, it is typically of fond memories surrounded by friends and family - for me, wine is a drink shared among people and seldom consumed alone. This behavior was learned from my surroundings - family, friends, media etc. This idea that opening a bottle of wine emphasizes the experience behind it has been so ingrained for many from a young age. To further emphasize the experience behind wine drinking, it is important to delve into the process as a whole. The beauty of the vineyard, the delicate precision of developing the notes and then the description of the tasting notes for the consumer embodies the story that wine is supposed to tell. It is one of the few industries that has been able to tell its story so well and I think that this therefore translates into how we enjoy it as consumers.
ReplyDeleteA couple of things come to mind when I consider the perspectives offered by Becca and David: Is it the wine or is the event itself that I will remember? and relatedly, what's important about being a "wine connoisseur"?
ReplyDeleteFrom an experience perspective, I struggle to correlate the meaning, joy, happiness or surprise of any experience with the quality of a wine. I might remember that it tasted bad or good, but really it's all about the company I'm sharing or what i'm doing, always. I'll remember the conversation I had at a dinner, the event we were celebrating (marriage, new job, casually getting together with close friends), etc. always over the wine. As I scroll through facebook, I'll be happy to see a picture of my friends and I laughing at dinner, but I won't zoom in to the wine bottle to happily recall it was a "XYZ" from the XXX vintage. It's just not that important to me. I guess I'm not meant to be a wine connoisseur. Never has it mattered that it was a $200 bottle we were drinking, never did we distract the conversation to discuss the grape grower's "life story" ... we just enjoyed the moment and the wine was secondary. I guess this speaks to my own experiences. My family in Naples, Italy (where my Mom is from) cooks the most amazing meals (I am more of a foodie than anything) but the wine came in a clear bottle. It was made locally, somehow, but certainly we didn't discuss that. Our experience didn't fall flat either because we didn't have a great wine story to tell. It was great wine, but I doubt it cost more than 2 or 3 euro. My family in America (where my Dad's family is) lived in a farming community... boxed wine was the norm.
Today, I do love going to wine country but it's more about seeing the beauty of the vineyard, changing my perspective, getting out of the city, fun with friends, having some wine, but i've never bought a bottle anywhere that I can recall, at least not to take home. To learn more about wines for me now, I believe is more about finding another beautiful place to visit, for now, I'm thinking Bordeaux.